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Thursday, April 18, 2013

PA plans to tack $100 fee to all traffic tickets

Pennsylvania State Senator John Rafferty, chairman of the Transportation Committee, unveiled his proposal for $2.5 billion worth of transportation funding this week, according to the PA Independent.

Rafferty’s plan adds a $100 fee to all moving traffic violations, like running a red light or getting a speeding ticket, on top of whatever fine the ticket already carries. This would raise an estimate $75 million next year, and $100 million five years out.

“There’s a message there,” Rafferty said, when asked about the fee.

The proposal also would increase a citation fee from $25 to a range of $100 to $300 for drivers who negotiate fines for certain violations instead of losing points off their license. That would raise an estimated $25.5 million annually.

Rafferty’s proposal also would raise all other PennDOT fees to adjust for inflation. Some of those fees, Rafferty said, haven’t been addressed since the 1970s or 1980s and do not take into account inflation or PennDOT’s actual costs. Those increases would earn the state more than $219 million within five years.

License fees would increase from $29.50 every four years to $50.50 every six years. Registration fees would rise from $36 annually to $102 every two years. Right now, Pennsylvania has the 18th lowest license fees in the country, and 10th lowest registration fees, Rafferty said.

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.